An Integrated Approach: Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation Skills and Communicating

in the ESL Classroom

Susan Bainbridge & Patricia O'Shea Higher Colleges of Technology

Abstract Our intention i n contributing to this book chapter is to bring together some aspects of research and best practice i n Oral Communication teaching i n both the Arts and the Sciences and i n so doing, apply a problem-solving approach to the teaching of successful Oral Communication to Second Language learners. We define successful Oral Communication as the process of giving and u v e i v i n g a clear message. This process both weaves and is woven from our acculturated concepts of reality and involves not only all aspects of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, but also intention, and verbal and non-verbal language.

Introduction A s qualified Second Language teachers, we are familiar wi th the linguistic theory of Oral Communication; some may be familiar wi th the latest research into what we should be teaching but are unsure of how to teach it and perhaps lack confidence i n their o w n skills i n this area. Pronunciation i n the second language field has traditionally been taught on a theoretical level by isolating sounds, concentrating on weak forms, then moving on to syllable stress, followed by sentence stress and intonation. This approach has been predominantly reliant on auditory learning and taught discretely. Our approach is to concentrate from the outset on the supra-segmental level (that is, dealing wi th intonation and rhythm) w i t h every English competency level. We do this by uti l izing the learning styles and techniques used i n both the Arts and Sciences approaches to Oral Communication and applying them in a holistic, culturally grounded problem-solving approach in the

second language classroom. The authors w i l l henceforth draw o n their individual experiences to share some techniques they f ind effective i n the classroom.

The techniques I use i n the second language classroom draw upon the various strands of my career as an Ora l Communicator: my intensive training and subsequent practice as a professional Actor; as an Actor Trainer specializing i n Voice and Speech; m y professional association with Speech Pathologists and E N T consultants, and through my second language teaching and oral communication training of Overseas Trained Doctors. W o r k i n g i n the Arts taught me the skills of oral communication: to 'play ' wi th the voice; to know that communication involves the whole body; to use problem solving techniques to identify and solve issues i n Oral Communication, and above all to enjoy the process of communicating i n the English language. From my work w i t h Speech Pathologists and E N T consultants I learned about neurology, histology, anatomy, and the ability to understand the underlying pathology. M y second language teaching and Masters of Linguistics has allowed me to look more deeply into the theory of Second Language Acquisit ion, the meaning and the structure of English and how to analyze from an academic and theoretical viewpoint.

A s an oral communication practitioner i n the Theatre Arts, my skills were influenced by practitioners such as Berry (1994), Linklater (1976, 1992) and Rodenburg (1992, 2002), and i n the practical applications of Speech Pathology techniques by the evidence-based research, workshops and teaching of A l i s o n Bagnall, Director Founder of Voicecraft International. A s a second language teacher my work is underwritten by the conclusions (see below) of a series of research projects into an integrated approach to oral communication teaching by D r Helen Fraser (2000, 2001, 2006), Senior Lecturer, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, University of N e w England

The B i g Picture It is arguable that the discrete, 'abstract' phonemes that we traditionally introduce to our second language students at the outset do not exist i n connected speech as these phonemes change depending on their position within the utterance and the intention of the message. A s English speakers, what we actually and holistically identify when we listen to English is the number of syllables, the stressed syllables, i.e. rhythm and the punctuation (pausing and the intonation pattern of the voice). It is Dr Fraser's strong recommendation, which I wholly support, that this suprasegmental approach to oral communication should be integrated throughout the skills areas and taught from the outset i n our classes (Fraser, 2001). In pursuit of this aim, Dr Fraser has produced an excellent C D - R O M for teachers who need to improve their skills i n teaching pronunciation.

Best practice oral communication theatre training teaches that every accent, dialect or language involves the use of a completely different set of muscles and habits. (Linklater, 1976; Rodenburg, 1992). In the Theatre Arts, we begin at the outset to teach our students this vital cultural aspect of spoken languages. Speech Pathology works from the premise that i n order to produce clear communication we need to be able to access the right muscle and then form the neural pathways i n order to produce it habitually (i.e. we form and establish successful speech habits).

The second contribution to this chapter w i l l focus on how we introduce these skills to our students i n the classroom and includes both the giving and receiving of the message (i.e. both speaking and listening).

In the Classroom In a typical first session, using this approach w i t h any level of English learner, we begin by asking our students to identify the habits they need to acquire to communicate successfully i n English. This is achieved by asking them to work i n groups to do a simple but

invaluable exercise. In a mixed language or monolingual class, the groups are given a simple set of instructions i n language appropriate to the language level of the group, spoken i n the normal rhythm of connected speech; to a Elementary level class, the phrases w i l l be shorter than to a H i g h Intermediate class thereby giving the information i n digestible 'bite sized chunks'. Delivering shorter phrases is the same technique a good communicator uses wi th first language speakers in a large audience. We are simply modeling good presentation skills, keeping the rhythm, pace and intonation intact, aided by 'gesture' accessible language and visual clues.

The fol lowing example is based o n a mixed language class of low Intermediate students: Part one

• In a moment / A k i k o / is going to tell us / in Japanese/ about her family /

• Everyone / is going to put their hands / over their ears / and watch Y u k i / Look at her face, / her arms / and her body. Watch / what she shows / someone to do / to communicate wel l / i n Japanese.

• When A k i k o / stops speaking, / take your hands / away from your ears. / Talk to your group / and one person / i n each group / write down / what A k i k o does. / Copy / w i t h your face and body / to help you to explain. /

• Choose the writer in each group

• (Akiko and teacher model the instructions of the exercise)

• Ready, / hands over ears, / A k i k o begin!

• Feedback onto board

I usually repeat this wi th one volunteer from each language group. In a monolingual class, 1 ask one of the students to volunteer to tell us about

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their family or their home town i n their o w n language. I ask each group to talk for a few minutes, then to tell me and show me what we have to do to communicate i n that language. Then we look at what we need to do be good communicators i n English. I ask them first to repeat the visual exercise by putting their fingers i n their ears while I tell them about my home town, then discuss, and one person from each group in turn show or tell me one thing they noticed.

Part two In the second part of the exercise I tell the students that I 'm going to talk to them for two to three minutes. I ask the students to listen to the sound of my voice; I tell them that on this occasion my words are not important and while I 'm speaking they are to discuss w i t h the rest of their group all the things they can see and hear me do with m y voice and body to make my meaning clear. I tell them that I w i l l help them to 'hear' by being the 'conductor' of an orchestra and hold an imaginary 'baton' between my thumb and fingers of both hands so they can 'see' as wel l as hear what my voice is doing. I ask them to feedback i n the same way as i n the previous exercise. By doing this I am asking them to identify the skills exercised i n successful oral communication not to reiterate the theory; I am also asking them to 'feel' h o w English works, the rhythm and the dynamics of connected speech. If a student should give the w o r d 'intonation' or 'stress' for example, I w o u l d ask them to explain what that means and show me what they heard. W i t h the feedback on the board, we form 'rules' for communicating i n English. This is a very enjoyable exercise as it is student-centered and group focused, engages all the senses, allows for all learning styles, gives the learners responsibility for their learning, engages the student i n the 'cultural ' experience of the spoken language, and validates each mother tongue i n the classroom by making the speaker the expert and the teacher of their o w n language. It also allows the students and the teacher to 'experiment' i n a safe environment while giving the teacher the opportunity of becoming the student and discovering new skills alongside the students. Above all , students enjoy the dynamics of

English and learn how to begin to enjoy communicating i n the language.

This exercise works for students of any age, level, culture, language group, or life experience. The list of 'rules', with help w i t h vocabulary from the teacher, w i l l always include variations of the following:

• Y o u make a lot of movement wi th your face

• The movement goes upwards and outwards

• Your mouth moves a lot

• Y o u 'smile' wi th your eyes

• Your face moves upwards and outwards

• You look at us

• It's like singing

• Some sounds are long and some are short

• Some sounds are loud and some are soft

• It's like the waves i n the sea/riding a horse (they show the movement)

• Y o u speak i n 'chunks'

• Each 'chunk' is like putting a comma or a full stop when you're writing.

We integrate this into our communication in every skills area on an ongoing basis; for example, as we are listening to a text, introducing new phrases, looking at the structure of a sentence (noun phrase, verb phrase, etc.), understanding and giving instructions or explanations.

Part three The next stage i n the introduction process is to acquire the skil l of identifying and producing the suprasegmentals, by integrating the above 'rules' through visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning. Native English speakers recognize a message by its rhythm, i.e. how many syllables, how long the syllables are, and which syllables are stressed. The techniques involved in this exercise are derived from Speech Pathology approaches and theatre training and can be introduced to any size of group.

The teacher becomes the conductor of the orchestra or the choirmaster and the students follow as they 'conduct' their o w n 'orchestra'. Each student takes the 'baton' between the thumb and the forefinger of both hands, as the hands and the batons lift to conduct the orchestra. This action, w i t h the eyes open, lifts the face muscles into a gentle 'smile' upwards and outwards. If, at the same time, the mouth is opened slightly a little breath w i l l automatically go in . The 'smile' is a necessary exaggeration for the students as the smile muscles allow the soft palate to rise and fall for the pitch glides necessary for intonation, while the shape inside the mouth created by the gentle smile creates the space towards the m i d - to front section of mouth to allow enough space for the sounds of English to take place (Berry, 1994; Linklater, 1976; Rodenburg, 1992). It is important to enjoy the exercise, to make it bigger, to exaggerate i n order to stimulate the right muscles to begin to form a habit. We can use the instructions we are giving at the time as our message. We write this on the board:

Smile / / and / o /pen / / your/mouth (I prefer to underline the stressed syllables on the board as I feel it's a clearer signal - than marking above the syllable wi th ' ) The double slashes // represent the end of a phrase (a verb phrase, prepositional phrase or noun phrase for example). I make these phrases short at the beginning and then later give them the choice of where we put the pauses by deciding w h i c h phrases we w i l l join together. The single slash / separates the syllables.

The conductors' batons follow the voice and the voice follows the batons. The students feel seven distinct movements of the baton - six for the number of syllables (marked / ) and the seventh making a ' fu l l stop' for the finish of the unvoiced ' th' at the end of the one syllable word 'mouth' . The organs of articulation automatically follow the baton to produce the unvoiced 'th' . The students follow the teacher following the phrase. They feel the stressed syllables like a stick on a cymbal. We do not concentrate on the syllables containing weak forms - these syllables are tapped very lightly and treated like a tiny preparations wi th the baton for the next stressed syllable. They get very little actual 'attention' from the batons. The intonation pattern is marked by the batons as they follow the voice. The students themselves choose how the class w i l l mark the flow of the intonation described by the batons over the written text. M y students have described the feel of the intonation as 'the waves o n the sea' and ' r iding a horse over the jumps'. After the introductory session, I also give the students a choice of how they w i l l 'use' their baton. The more confident and outgoing students very quickly feel comfortable wi th conducting a large orchestra. The more introverted might prefer to use a 'pencil baton' and describe the movement wi th the tip of the pencil or crayon o n a large piece of paper thereby conducting a smaller orchestra. The most important consideration is that the students follow the principle conductor - the teacher - and work as a consolidated group - the orchestra. Each time the baton is lifted - simultaneously the face muscles follow and move upwards and outwards into the smile movement, the mouth opens and the breath goes in . We are teaching our students the skills of English pronunciation and stimulating the particular set of muscles necessary for communicating i n English.

This is the introductory framework of the suprasegmentals. Once the framework has been established, it is integrated throughout the skills areas (see above). The 'baton' is used as a problem-solving tool for all areas of pronunciation i n order to make the message clear. In addition

to the suprasegmentals, the 'baton' can describe, for example, a diphthong within a word or phrase, a short or long vowel, l inking one sound to the next, forming a consonant cluster, ensuring the necessary amount of syllables are present, and finishing the syllable at the end of a phrase. It is as valuable a tool for acquiring listening skills as it is for speaking. Once the teacher is confident i n his/her skills, it is a very enjoyable process transferring these skills to the students. In my workshops, I encourage my teachers to practice conducting the orchestra i n front of a large mirror using any phrase that comes to mind.

Part four Implementing Communicat ion Activit ies i n the Classroom We have discussed the 'what' and the ' w h y ' of teaching oral skills i n the classroom, now it is appropriate to concern ourselves w i t h exactly 'how' to implement activities which w i l l improve the oral skills of students. It is understood that any oral-based classroom must have clear guidelines established so the teacher can quickly and effectively deliver instructions or stop activities for a moment to clarify a point. It is also important that the teacher use a low tone when speaking, so students become accustom to a reasonable level of speaking. They w i l l naturally begin to imitate the teacher's voice level. In most oral activities thirty to fifty percent of the students may be speaking at any given time, therefore teachers need to be cognizant of overall noise level. M a n y of the activities included i n this paper follow a format or structure that is used wi th only slight variations in complementary activities. It is important that the students are taught the processes and practice them before beginning any oral activity. These processes may include forming groups, moving furniture or making formations. A good teacher gives a specific name to each specific direction and has pre-taught the routine. Depending on the English level of your students and their age level, this teaching and explaining of the routine may take an hour or even extend over a couple of days. It is the foundation of all successful oral activities, so it is time wel l spent.

Proper training in formation routine makes for more successful oral activities and results.

Carouselling This formation has various names and it can be used successfully for teaching conversation techniques and/ or question and answer dialogue strategies. The formation places half of the class i n a circle on the perimeter of the classroom. It does not have to form a circle. Students might stand i n each corner of the room or three along each side of the room, depending on the number of students i n the group. Then the other half of the class each pairs u p w i t h a student i n this outer r ing and this second group is treated as the inner circle. The outer circle students never change location. The inner circle students rotate left to the next outer circle partner each time the teacher says "Change" (or rings a bell, or claps their hands and so on). It is important that the students practice this initial pair-up and rotation a couple of times before any actual oral activity is introduced. It can become a fun activity i n itself as the teacher has the class sitting i n seats and then says "Carousel" or "Circle Pairs" and times the class to see how quickly they can form the two circles. Once they know the routine then an activity such as the fol lowing can be introduced. Students receive a lesson or review on ' w h ' questions. Then they are asked to write five questions they w o u l d like to ask a classmate. Whi le they work the teacher moves around the classroom correcting each student's questions. When each student has five questions then the class moves into carousel position. Each pair then asks each other their questions and answers the others questions. The teacher moves between partners and as the first or second pair finishes, the teacher says 'change' or 'rotate' and the inner circle moves left to the next person. Then the new pairs begin again, asking each other their questions and responding. This continues until the people are back i n the original pairs. This is a marvelous activity for large classes. The most important aspect is that fifty percent of the class is speaking at all times. It is actually a dri l l to perfect certain structures, but far more interesting than memorization. Below are some

topics that have been used successfully wi th carouselling wi th some creative thought the list could be infinite.

'wh' questions introductions small talk specific verb tense practice e.g. What were you doing last night at 8 o'clock? I was eating dinner.

spelling peer drills Each student has five words and asks "How do you spell ? Partner spells the word.

vocabulary expansion Each student has five categories and says to their partner, "name three vegetables". The other student does so.

Rotational Group Work: Divide the class into groups of three to four students (make one group with the extra member if the class size is not divisible by either number). Each group w i l l work at a table and the teacher or the group chooses one student in each group to be M s / M r . X. Each table w i l l have a large sheet of white paper, markers or coloured pencil and any other items the teacher may choose to add. A s w i t h carouselling this activity structure can work wi th any age level or English level. The group begins to work on an assigned topic or goal and works for five to ten minutes together. Then the teacher directs the X person to move to another group. N o w each group has a new member. This new person tells the group what additions they can make from ideas she/he brings from the previous group or simply brings fresh ideas as discussion continues. The teacher rotates the 'floater X ' every five or ten minutes until the groups are back to their original members. N o w the groups complete their f low chart, graphs, labeled collages or whatever the teacher has directed or the activity generates. The final papers/boards are displayed and if the class is a higher English level, each group can present their work to the rest of the class. Below is a chart wi th some ideas that work wel l wi th rotational group work.

Vocabulary expansion Lexical groups: list as many as possible e.g. types of animals.

Mind-Mapping Brainstorming ideas for some type of plan e.g. invention, project

Flow Charts To expand on any idea e.g. steps to write an essay

Collage Groups must create a list of new words and draw pictures or cut pictures from magazines

Charts Create a chart together with any information they are asked to gather e.g. compare/contrast

Timelines Research or thought based e.g. history of the telephone/major events in an average person's life

Pair Work: It is important in any pair work that the teacher attempts to ensure that English is spoken during the activity. Therefore the activities have to include 'controlled conversation' so that the point of the exercise entails speaking English to achieve the goals. Otherwise the teacher w i l l f ind it impossible to monitor seven to twelve groups while they work simultaneously.

Pair work is successful if the partners are practicing some dialogue that they w i l l record or perform for the class. A l l oral activities, but particularly pair work should have a quick pace and very specific time constraints. If the students are given an extended period of time to complete an activity that normally takes half the time, then superfluous chatter and unnecessary noise w i l l take over the classroom. Some pair work activities that students enjoy and that improve oral skills are:

Prepare oral dialogue for recording

Prepare oral dialogue for performance in class

Write a dialogue together to submit or perform

Record as many words as possible in a specific category

Write a story together but students write alternative sentences

Create a survey together to ask the other students in class

Memory Games: Standard and traditional memory games are very good if the teacher learns how to take them to another level and expand on them horizontally. Most readers know the oral activities such as having the class sit i n a circle and make a story. The teacher begins the story with a first line, for example, "Last night I went to Dubai . " The student to her right must repeat the teacher's statement and add the next sentence. E.g. "Last night I went to Dubai . I ate at a restaurant." The next student must repeat the two statements and add another, and so on. This i n itself is a fine activity particularly for dri l l ing a certain verb tense. The teacher makes corrections and the next students must make no errors. So all students are listening intently and trying to memorize each sentence. This type of activity can be taken a step further and can become as challenging as the class can handle. For example, if the students know the past tense, but often make pronoun errors, then the teacher can ask the students to change the pronouns as they repeat each sentence. E.g. Last night he went to Dubai. She ate i n a nice restaurant. I went to a movie.

Conclusion A l l of the activities described i n this paper have common denominators. They each follow a set structure that can be used often by the same teacher, but offer great variety because of the actual content. They can also be very easily adapted to any age group or language level. They also allow students of varying language levels to perform at their o w n level, speak often and listen for purpose to the words of others.

References Berry, C . (1994) Your voice and how to use it. London: Virgin.

Fraser, H . (2000), Coordinating improvements in pronunciation teaching for adult learners of English as a second Language. Canberra: A N T A Innovative Project.

Fraser, H . (2001). Teaclnng pronunciation: A handbook for teachers and trainers. Sydney: T A F E - N S W Access Division.

Fraser, H . (2001). C D - R O M Teaching pronunciation: A guide for teachers of English as a second language.

Fraser, H . (2006). He lp ing teachers help students with pronunciation. Prospect: A Journal of Australian TESOL.

Linklater, K . (1976). Freeing the natural voice. New York: Drama Book Specialists.

Linklater, K . (1992). Freeing Shakespeare's voice the actors guide to talking the text. N e w York, N Y : Theatre Communications Group.

Kodenburg, P. (2002). The Actor speaks: Voice and the performer. N e w York: Routledge.

Kodenburg, P. (1992). Vie Right to speak: Working with tlie voice. N e w York: Routledge

Susan Bainbridge has been teaching English, ESL and E F L for more than thirty years. She has held various educational positions as a classroom teacher, school administrator and Director of Education in Canada, Japan and Korea. She currently resides and teaches i n the United Arab Emirates. Over the years she has worked wi th publishers to refine E F L texts, as wel l as trained hundreds of teachers i n preparation for a career i n EFL. Her major interest is Linguistic Imperialism and the importance of maintaining cultural sensitivity when teaching a foreign language.

Patricia O'Shea trained and worked as a Professional Actress and an Actor Trainer i n the U K . In 1986 she became involved in E F L and ESL teaching and holds an M A i n A p p l i e d Linguistics. Patricia has held a number of positions i n tertiary institutions in Singapore and Australia. These include Head of ESL Oral Communication, Teacher Trainer Oral Communication, ELICOS teacher, responsible for Oral Communication, and Convener of E F L Oral Communication for ESL Medical students and Overseas Trained Doctors. She is a regular presenter of Pronunciation Skills workshops at conferences and institutions. She now lives and teaches in the U A E .